DISCLAIMER:
Any posted Notice of Disciplinary Charges, Conviction Transmittal or other initiating document,
contains only allegations of professional misconduct. The attorney is presumed to be
innocent of any misconduct warranting discipline until the charges have been proven.

California Bar Journal Discipline Summaries

Summaries from the California Bar Journal are based on discipline orders but are not the official records. Not all discipline actions have associated CBJ summaries. Copies of official attorney discipline records are available upon request.

August 21, 2014

SAQIB A. ZUBERI [#273389], 36, of Pomona, was placed on probation for two years and faces a one-year suspension if he does not comply with the terms of his probation. He was also ordered to take the MPRE. The order took effect Aug. 21, 2014.

Zuberi stipulated to misconduct in two client matters: two counts of failing to promptly refund unearned fees and two counts of failing to participate in a disciplinary investigation. In the first matter, Zuberi was hired to help a client with her immigration matter. The woman paid Zuberi $3,000 in advanced fees but later told Zuberi she wanted to cancel her contract because her uncle was ill. Zuberi did not refund the unearned fees for over a year, after a State Bar complaint was made about him. He also did not respond to a State Bar investigator inquiring about the allegations made against him.

Zuberi engaged in similar misconduct in another matter after he was hired by a client to guide her in a civil dispute she was having with her brother and sister-in-law. The client signed a retainer agreement and paid $7,500 in advanced fees but later canceled his services and asked for a refund.

Zuberi did not repay her for more than nine months, after a complaint was made to the State Bar. He also did not respond when a State Bar investigator inquired about the allegations.